Two new species of plants from Cuba

Vol. 32, pp.241-242

December

31,1919

PROCEEDINGS

OP THE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

TWO NEW ^SPECIES OF PLANTS FROM CUBA.*

BY PAUL

C.

STANDLEY.

In a

small collection of plants of

the

families

Amaranthaceae and

Allioniaceae,

obtained

_recentlyin

Cuba and forwarded

for

determination by ^the New York Botanical Garden,

^are

two _ap- parently new

_species

which

are

described below.

Achyranthes crassifolia Standi., sp. nov.

Stems _branched, probably prostrate, the branches _stout,

when _young

densely covered with _{straight, appressed,}

smooth

or _slightlyhispidulous hairs,glabra^{te in}age; leaveslinear or linear-oblanceolate, ^sessileornearly so,7-18

mm.

_long,1-2.5

mm.

wide,narrowedtothe_base,acuteatthe apex, fleshy, glabrate, the margins revolute; heads _axillary, sessile, solitary or glomerate, 4-8

mm.

long, about 4

mm.

in diameter, the^flowersyellowish white; bracts

and

bractlets half as long^as thesepals or shorter, broadly ovate,sparselypilose;sepalsbroadly^{ovate, 2.5}

mm.

_long,obtuse or_acutish, 3-ribbed, short-mucronate, pilose, especially near the base; stamen tube veryshort,thestaminodiaminuteorwanting;^utriclelessthanhalf aslong asthe _calyx.

Type

^{intheherbariumofthe}

New York

BotanicalGarden, ^collected

on

the seashore near Santiagode Cuba, Cuba, March,1919,

by

Brother Clem- ent (No.152).

Related, apparently,^toA. halimifoliaLam., aspecieswith broadleaves

and more

copiouspubescence.

Torrubia insularis Standi., sp. nov.

Branchesslender_{or stout,}grayish or palebrown,rimoseandlenticellate, glabrous except^atthe nodes, there minutelypuberulent; leaves opposite, thepetioles slender, 1-1.8 cm. _long,0.5-1

mm.

thick,glabrous, the blades lanceolateto lance-elliptic,4.5-9cm._long,0.8-3cm.wide, acutish^toacumi- nateatthe_base,usuallyacuminateorlong-acuminate^{at the}apex but some- times acuteorsubobtuse, broadest^{at or}below the middle, subcoriaceous, concolorous,glabrous,thelateralnerves7-9 on eachside,slender,subarcu-

iPublishedbypermission^ofthe SecretaryoftheSmithsonianInstitution.

49—

Pboc. Biol.Soc.Wash.,Vol.32,1919. (241)

242 Proceedings

of the Biological Society of

Washington.

ate, theveinletsinconspicuous;pistillatepeduncles 2.5-4.5cm. _long,very slender,glabrous^ornearlyso,theinflorescencecymose-paniculate, 1-2cm.

broad,lax,rather few-flowered, thebranches_glabrous,the bractsandbract- letsminute, the ^{flowerssessile} and_glomerate;pistillateperianth tubular, 3-4

mm.

_long, constricted belowthemouth, very minutely puberulent or glabrous.

Type

^{intheherbariumofthe}

New York

BotanicalGarden, collectedat CaletaGrande,^Isleof Pines,Cuba, August19, 1919,

by

Roig and

Cremata

(No. 1857A). Alsocollected at

Hato

Nuevo, Puntadel Este,^Isleof Pines, August13,1919,

by

^the

same

collectors (No.1790).

Related to T. linearibradeata (Heimerl) Standi., ofYucatan, but^differ- ing ^{in its} minute bracts. Torrubia fragrans (Dum.-Cours.) Standi., a widely distributed

West

Indian_species,is

somewhat

similar ingeneral ap- pearance, butits leaves are mostly^broadest abovethe middle

and

_they have

numerous

lateralnerves.